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The Proceedings of 21st IPMA World Congress on Project Management And then came Complex Project Management
S. Jonathan Whitty 1 Harvey Maylor2
(1. Division of Complex & Intelligent Systems, School of IT & Electrical Engineering, University of Queensland, Australia 2. School of Management, Cranfield University, United Kingdom) Abstract—The subject of management is renowned for its addiction to fads and fashions. Project Management is no exception. The issue of interest for this paper is the establishment of the ‘College of Complex Project Managers’ and their ‘competency standard for complex project managers.’ Both have generated significant interest in the Project Management community, and like any other human endeavour they should be subject to critical evaluation. The results of this evaluation show significant flaws in the definition of complex in this case, the process by which the College and its standard have emerged, and the content of the standard. However, there is a significant case for a portfolio of research that extends the existing bodies of knowledge into large-scale complicated (or major) projects that would be owned by the relevant practitioner communities, rather than focused on one organization. Research questions are proposed that would commence this stream of activity towards an intelligent synthesis of what is required to manage in both complicated and truly complex environments. 1. INTRODUCTION The objective of this paper is to examine this phenomenon and the associated claims, and to provide a development of the critical debate concerning the utility of the phenomenon and its implications for the practice of PM. The outcome is a set of recommendations for how the debate can be progressed through grounded research. The paper is structured around three main issues. The first concerns the nature of complex and complexity being discussed. The approach used by the College and the standard are compared with existing approaches. Secondly, the process by which the College and standard has emerged is examined. Lastly, the content of the standard and its implications are discussed. 2. THE NATURE OF COMPLEXITY AND THE COMPLEX PROJECT MANAGER "Every decade or so, a grandiose theory comes along, bearing similar aspirations and often brandishing an ominous-sounding C-name. In the 1960 it was cybernetics. In the '70s it was catastrophe theory. Then came chaos theory in the '80s and complexity theory in the '90s" [8]. Project managers have a wide and diverse set of applications for the term ‘complex’ [9], without drawing distinctions between complex and complicated, for instance. Some unpacking of the term is useful however, to allow more specific examination of relevant aspects of complexity theory. Complexity theory has been liberally applied over the last decade in many disciplines as disparate as astronomy, biology, physics and finance in an attempt to solve complex problems [10]. Much theory building and modelling of complex systems has taken place from which we may make successful predictions about the real world, but very few practical tools have been developed to manage or control complex systems. Traditional methods are often the only option humans have to muster some sort of control of complex systems, and these predominate in the PM literature [11]. The science of complexity is about the study of systems whose behaviours and properties primarily arise from the interactions between their individual elements rather than the elements themselves [12]. As Maylor & Vidgen [9] have described, this

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ADS and fashions in management are well understood phenomena [1]. Project Management (PM) could itself be described as ‘currently fashionable’, given the level of interest in the area. On the one hand, PM is recognized to be the key enabler of business change and a vital contributor to future business success [2]. On the other, projects commonly fail to meet their objectives [3-5]. What are project managers and their organizations to do to resolve this dissonance? Unfortunately, one method is to grasp at any credibly sounding notion [6], the latest one being entitled ‘complex project management,’ as promoted by the College of Complex Project Managers (CCPM). This new phenomenon has emerged and appears to have gained momentum unchecked by any critical debate. The CCPM has produced its own competency standard (Competency Standards for Complex Project Managers (CSCPM)) which holds little back on its claims. “This standard lays the foundation for project management to effectively deal with complex projects, and in doing so, to add real value to our world.” [7]

and so can be described as complex adaptive systems. 2. It uses the language of complexity science such as open. Projects themselves have been described as complex systems that require management [7. where they may have very high levels of structural complexity. and emergent. [14]). Commonly the PM literature uses the term loosely when describing the “web of relationships” among project stakeholders that needs to be managed (e. Independent dynamic complexity
4. Maylor & Vidgen’s model of complexity is shown in Fig. Indeed. Each chess piece has a well defined set of rules concerning how it moves and how it can capture other pieces. examples of complex systems include governments. ocean. Testing the definition further. the ecosystem of the world and sub-world ecosystems: desert. complicated. Uncertainty is a fundamental characteristic of all projects. a person (psychosocial). This precludes many projects. but due to stability in other conditions.
21st IPMA World Congress on Project Management
. the spread of infectious disease. non-linear feedback. but also from the dynamic effects of each of these changing and then interacting as they change. we can say that they are truly complex where they exist in stage 4 of the SDI matrix – they have multiple structural elements interacting and changing as they progress. Consider the king. project characteristics and organisational complexity) and their interaction. 18].
Independent Interacting
2. Extra squares never emerge. tangled. including very large ones. The behaviour is still not non-linear or emergent when a player’s pawn advances to its eighth rank and gets promoted to a queen. and when two pawns are next to each other they do not turn into a jester with a whole new set of movement rules. and so on. Once in every game the king is allowed a special move known as castling. Complexity in the project environment comes not only from individual structural elements (categorised as being external stakeholders. involved. dynamic. or knight of the same colour (almost always to a queen) because this behaviour is still deterministic – it is causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior moves. So what does complex mean in PM? Common synonyms for the term complex are. as most introductory texts will testify. A game of chess is used to exemplify dynamic complexity where parts of the system can react and interact. and the weather [12. 15]. and forest fires. 1. It is played on a square board of eight rows and eight columns. Using the above matrix. with a clear set of deterministic rules. recursive. and each player begins with an identical set of sixteen pieces. families. Each player’s move ultimately focuses on capturing their opponent’s king. not only because they deal with technological issues but because they deal with the wider organizational factors largely beyond the project manager’s control [16]. do not have the dynamic interaction complexity. it is unsupportable to claim that “a completely new way of managing is required to control these unforeseen events”. If one considers the
Structural
1. Simply having unforeseen events that occurred during daily project work activities is not evidence of a complex system. and indeed there are well developed responses to these situations. however these are not the characteristics of the projects cited in the definition. intricate. The novice or non-player might describe the king’s behaviour as complex. but those well versed in the game of chess consider the behaviour knowable – complicated (when or where in time castling occurs) maybe. there are many notions of complexity. describing projects in terms of complexity landscapes. it is notable that projects are socially constructed entities [17. However. the brain.g. time and turn based game. Interacting dynamic complexity
Fig1: Structural Dynamic Interaction (SDI) Matrix Outside of the project world. complexity. chess is a two player. the CSCPM [7] cites the résumés of the Fellows of the College of CPM. Section 3 of the CSCPM [7] defines the characteristics of complex projects. Unforeseen events are inevitable to some degree in almost all projects.1 A case of mistaken identity With the above in mind. Independent structural complexity
Dynamic
3. particularly when being used to prescribe what is and is not a complex project. causing further change in other parts of the system. Therefore without defining the level and the challenges of complexity. to name but a few. and without measures for it. two rooks. we now consider the approach taken to complexity by the College and the standard. queen. rainforest. a piece that can only move one square any which way at a time. and knotty. but this does not provide an exclusive definition – many small and relatively simple projects could be classified as complex by this definition. Thus complexity is a variable rather than a binary commodity. king. A question that arises from this discussion is the metric that would apply to a project to put it into the complex (stage 4) category. This has not currently been established and is required to provide some threshold to the inevitable notion that most projects possess some degree of complexity. rook.2 is only one aspect of project complexity. High levels of uncertainty may indicate a dynamically complex project. Interacting structural complexity
In addition to this. 13]. The system is not open. The movements of each piece cannot be described as dynamic or emergent. traffic jams. but still predictable because only a limited number of moves are technically possible. the human body (physiological). as we will show. for instance. is a term that is less than helpful.

railroads. Having set out current understanding of complexity. the requirement for new tools and techniques is not based on any critical evaluation of either the espoused theory or the theory in practice. Before continuing with the notion that because a project is complex we need new tools and techniques. The CSCPM [7] suggests there is a global acceptance of the shortfall in supply of complex project managers. as does the UK’s Major Projects Association (see [20]). Critical Path Method. Today it is commonly agreed that Quantum Mechanics describes how the world really works. Relatively recent responses in the literature have not been evaluated. but again does not provide any meaningful exclusivity. The term ‘weather’ usually refers to the activity of atmospheric phenomena over short periods of time such as hours or days. combat ships.3 projects the Fellows have managed e. gas and oil pipelines. There are challenges to many of the long held beliefs about tools and techniques used in projects. The Fellows of the College have therefore managed complicated projects in complex social environments – but as for dealing with uncertainty. are all responses to this reality. and variations on agile project management [25].g. 3. extreme programming and other IT-derived methods. but the social environment in which they take place may do. the proper management of which can only be achieved by persons who are appropriately certified and sanctioned by their peers. because they have not satisfactorily established any measures or threshold for such complexity. In addition to tools and techniques. as the ‘discipline of
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. they have many components. this is the case for the majority of PM practitioners. and which interventions simply exacerbate problems [22]? The weather is a complex system.2 The complex project manager The standard hypothesises that today. the lack of predictability arises from the nature of the interactions between the components and often from the inability to measure the state of the system at any time with sufficient precision. for instance. the approach taken by the College can be assessed as having not justified that the projects in which they are interested are complex. how does one manage or attempt to control a truly complex system? What kind of interventions are useful. [23]). (more than in previous times) there exists a special category of projects called complex projects. humans have evolved in a world where Newtonian physics works well enough because simple laws emerge on the scale our bodies operate. perfect forecasting is impossible and only short range forecasts are reliable. More traditional methods may continue to be appropriate because we live on a scale where these methods work well. Last Planner [24]. However. Finally. Their behaviour as a whole may be entirely understood by reducing them to their parts. wind. Again. civil engineering and offshore structures to name a few. whilst ‘large’ or ‘major’ projects. there is an opportunity for the issue to be considered further. 2. the projects listed in the resumes. The types of projects referred to in the CSCPM may not meet a threshold measure of complexity. 2. The methodology of forecasting the weather can be similarly applied to other complex systems like the stock-markets. Weather forecasts are made by collecting data on the current state of the atmosphere (temperature. Some activities are complex – we can at least qualitatively say this. Similarly. it would be helpful to have a picture of what constitutes use and effective use of the existing tools and techniques. but these apply across the board and are not necessarily limited to something that may be labelled as complex. flight control centres. that there is an increasing demand for complex project managers. space shuttle engines. Indeed. one immediately sees that these systems are not necessarily complex. Moreover. Complicated though they may be. None of these are factored into the discussions of dealing with this claimed new complexity.g. have well defined boundaries with predictable interactions across them. THE PROCESS BY WHICH THE COLLEGE AND THE STANDARD
HAS EMERGED
In 2006 PM was purportedly added to the list of disciplines to which complexity theory was applied. and how they work in environments of varying dynamism. This is stated without a definition of complex (as stated above) or any data to justify that there is indeed an increase in the demand. The complex nature of the atmosphere means that perfect forecasting is impossible. It is not that prediction is merely hard or that the system has not been completely modelled or understood. and forecasts become less accurate as the forecast range increases.3 Managing under Complexity Just because we know a system is complex does not mean that we require complex tools to control or manage it. Clearly. The additional demand for ‘complex project managers’ is not justified. they are not complex. is a useful part of project planning. There is an inherent limitation in our ability to predict the long-term or emergent behaviour they create. missile software. many activities we participate in are very complicated. simple or complicated [21]. many interactions. Rather. are hardly unique. The 50% rule and rolling wave planning (e. Clearly here too. but it does not model the reality of the uncertainty of the project environment well in either small or large projects. humidity etc) and then using computer models to determine how the atmosphere is expected to change. Morris and Hough [19] categorised these as Major Projects. if all of their parts are inert. The human brain has evolved to help us survive in a world where objects are neither very small nor very large and where things stand still or move slowly. stating that they are socially constructed systems is a useful view.

Fig 3 provides a key to the four levels of competency.’ The following section considers the content in more detail. Whatever the politics or purpose of those standards. We will discuss the content of the CSCPM in the following section. 27]. The business case for this is not clear. and the processes of the organisations that the Fellows represented. When the APM was revising its BoK (see Morris [31]). though this does depend on how far down the work breakdown (assuming the WBS concept is still relevant in complex projects. It is clear that the Fellows of the College decide who they let in to their club. are simply reinforced and further legitimised and institutionalised. During 2006 there were extensive efforts on the part of the protagonists of the College to recruit senior practitioners as Fellows of the College. they draw on the extensive research that they commission to do this. This process by itself has succeeded where the other PM institutions have only had limited success restricting entry to the profession (see e. they have at least some basis to the claim of representing ‘accepted practice’ (though not best practice). what is the problem that this initiative is trying to solve or be part of the solution to? By what analysis is the addition of further competencies to individual project managers. but for now the process by which the College and standard have emerged is worth stating. The attempt at normalisation is justified on the basis that there are many organisations who have not even got to a basic level of process. Section 12 provides a glimpse at what the CSCPM and College is likely to be all about – not only selectively awarding the keys to the profession. the content should similarly be treated in a critical manner. the solution to ‘challenged performance’ in (military) major projects? A fuller analysis of the issues (as we will propose) may for instance. approaches away from the mainstream (as defined by the bodies of knowledge for instance) are not well developed. Without fuller analysis we can only speculate on this. Any credible business case for change must consider root causes. 2 will show. Issues such as the ownership and management of risk and opportunities (rather than outsourcing risk) may be at the root of the problems faced. but owning the gates to it. they choose who they give the keys to. this provided implicit endorsement of the College. however. the administrators of the standards and therefore the keepers of the gates to ‘the profession’ can. that there are some well established responses to complexity – as outlined above. When PMI undertake revising their BoK. In doing so. its aims. find that the issues are more systemic rather than under the influence of the project manager. However. Specifically. there was a significant research project underpinning it.4 CPM’ was unofficially launched at the 20th IPMA World Congress in Shanghai. We think it perfectly reasonable for the authors of the CSCPM to demonstrate the
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. and certifiers. However. and many new project managers coming into ‘the profession’ daily who need to have a grounding in these basics. The College. and will require further investigation before they can be regarded as ‘current technology. being pre-dated by Shenhar [15] and others [26. However. [29]). The development of the College and its standard has proceeded without checkpoints and with political support rather than intellectual input to test the core concepts. this has the potential to be a substantial business. It is clear though. and neither is the level of control that the College will exert in the future over the content of its standard. the supply of complex project managers is unlikely be at the root of such analysis. is that all government contractors and subcontractors will necessarily be required (it will not be optional) to train and certify their project managers in CPM. One consequence of the Australian and UK Defence Departments willingness to sign up to the CSCPM. which can hardly be said to be working effectively. it being so reductionist in outlook) the complexity would be perceived to go. What is the likely business case for the standard? Section 11 of the CSCPM describes the College as a charity as it is not for profit and has no membership fees (Australian and UK Defence Departments are currently providing secretarial support). none of these are based on such a limited view as the standard being promoted by the College.g. It is not clear what research has underpinned its development. One also has to question the basis that the Fellows are working from. and the competence levels appear to have been allocated on an entirely arbitrary basis as any attempt to rationalise the allocation of competency levels in the example shown in fig. change it at will. it also mentions that the College will develop and establish postgraduate programmes in CPM. [30]). given the levels of performance indicated in survey after survey (e. Amongst the questions this situation poses is how useful is this situation to the Australian or UK Defence Departments? The situation is clear. the application of complexity theory to PM was not new even then. THE CONTENT OF THE COMPETENCY STANDARD
Notwithstanding the challenges identified above – the definition and the process both being flawed. the Rethinking Project Management Network (2004-2006 – see [28]) attempted to move the agenda of research away from the highly deterministic view of projects that had prevailed up to that point.g. based on the argument thus far there is the potential for an entire new industry in training and certification to add to the current melee in this area. This need for training and certification will powerfully drive a whole new industry of CPM course developers. In developing a future research agenda for PM. Intuitively. As discussed previously. in the same manner that they created it. Further. 4. Given the size of the industries involved. trainers. is promoting the existing incumbents really a good idea? This appears to be running the risk that the existing approaches.

The role that further training and accreditation would play in this would then be evident. rich pictures. anti-positivism. Similarly. Specifically. a sense of wonder. element 10. 50% rule etc). (complicated) projects. relax. element 3. CONCLUSIONS AND AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Fig 3: Four levels used in classifying actions in workplace Having seen the criteria. These terms have more in common with the chapter headings of a compendium on post-modernism than they do with real people managing
The College and the standard trouble us for a host of reasons: the definition of complex does not stand up to any scrutiny. cases of the application of particular practices do need to be written and disseminated to support evidence-based training where skills gaps are identified. the process by which the College and the standard have progressed has gone un-checked. there has been no analysis of the problems that the establishment of this initiative is intended to solve. View 10 Special Attributes. and reserves time to sit back.1 Wisdom: practitioners have a robust self-esteem. One view is that it risks plunging the PM community into the dark ages. We propose the following research question: What has been the root causes of failure in major (defence procurement) projects? This question does not assume that the causes are all generalisable. punctuated equilibrium. they are relatively undeveloped in application in the project environment (rich pictures in
Fig 2: Example of a CSCPM competency view
soft-systems methods being the possible exception). it is required to understand the root causes of problems. that the butterfly effect would suggest. and the standard is not established on evidence based practices. Another example.10 Pilot projects – symbolism and the management of meaning: certifiers are required to validate evidence that the practitioner is competent in myth creation and ‘walks their talk’’. and the butterfly effect. As for previous issues. beyond the complexity response already discussed above (rolling wave plans.5 empirical evidence for the practices that will be driven and enforced through the standards. consider how a certifier of the standard would validate evidence in order to certify a CPM practitioner as competent or even leader. but would provide the foundation for determining the nature of the initiatives that would start towards improved performance. It would be interesting to hear the application. With no empirical evidence to support it. A good place to start is with an understanding of the problems faced in the kinds of projects embraced by the College – projects that we have termed ‘major’ rather than complex. Concerning examples are not hard to find in the CSCPM. Finally.
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. and the business case clear. 5. the CSCPM drives project managers to apply the knowledge and theories of metaphors. the content itself is completely untested. and mull over issues. Whilst they provide useful views of the project environment. there is a real opportunity here for research to demonstrate how these ideas have been applied and their relative costs and benefits. Fig 2 shows View 3 Change and Journey.

4. having started the process to provide credible knowledge under-pinning the definition and associated approaches. A Memetic Paradigm of Project Management. A. 254-285. Management Science. A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. REFERENCES 1. This led to the second research question: How do you measure complexity in a robust manner.
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9. 47(3): p. eds. Understanding the level of complexity in a project would allow evaluation of the current toolsets. 23(8): p. 2001. Available from: http://www. dynamic and interaction elements? This would allow setting boundaries for levels of complexity within projects. P.pdf. Loosemore. Maylor. Festinger. Grasping the Complexity of IS Development Projects. but it is key to such a process that we understand: What are the characteristics of managers who appear to be able to handle complexity at pre-defined levels. Available from: http://www. KPMG's International 2002-2003 Programme Management Survey. Available from: http://standishgroup. A standard may indeed contain some of these elements. S.